When significant changes are made to public health settings, the community should hear from the people who came up with the advice.
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The experts entrusted with scratching out the path through COVID should speak publicly when changes are made, ready to explain why.
Australia's chief medical officer, Professor Paul Kelly, was on hand after national cabinet on Thursday, standing alongside Prime Minister Scott Morrison. NSW's chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, is also frequently on hand for the task.
But the ACT's chief health officer, Dr Kerryn Coleman, last spoke at a press conference before Christmas. No doubt Dr Coleman, and her deputy, Dr Vanessa Johnston, have been very busy in the meantime with the growing number of cases and the difficult decisions that have come as a result.
But their jobs include assuring the public with thorough explanations of what in the world is going on.
The changes made in the last few days have been significant. Recasting the risk on exposure sites so fewer people will need to be tested and more cases of COVID-19 are permitted to circulate in the community is one that deserves a fulsome explanation.
If the health advice has indeed changed, the public ought to hear the explanation. Is it because Omicron is milder or because health authorities can't deal with so many contacts and need to prioritise? What's the local view on the use of rapid-antigen tests? Is reducing the days a positive COVID case needs to isolate for a good idea?
The public are not pandemic experts, but are eager to be walked through the situation and capable of comprehending the details.
This virus will directly touch more lives here than it ever has, so it's not right to lessen direct access to the people making the public health advice.
The public ought to be able to compare the statements of the public health officials with the statements of the politicians. We cannot simply take the politicians' word for it that they are following the advice.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
